Data center cooling with cold air from compressed air turbines
Breeze cools data centers with the cold exhaust air from compressed air turbines. The air is supplied on site or remotely by pipeline and arrives below zero. It enters standard ventilation after warming to about 22°C, or it chills the water that feeds the chillers. The same turbines generate electricity.
What compressed air data center cooling is
| Cooling medium | Cold turbine exhaust air |
|---|---|
| Supplied | On site or by pipeline |
| Used as air | Warmed to about 22°C, then into standard ventilation |
| Used on water | Chills the water that feeds the chillers |
| Compared with | Mechanical chillers: huge energy savings |
| Compressor drive | Gas, then renewables |
Compressed air data center cooling is a way to cool a data hall with air that has been chilled by expansion, with huge energy savings against mechanical chillers. Air cools sharply when it is released from pressure through a turbine, so the air leaving the turbine is very cold. Breeze supplies that air to a data center from compressors on site, or from a pipeline that reaches the facility from a compressor some distance away. The cold air enters standard ventilation after warming to about 22°C, or it chills the water that feeds the chillers. The turbine also turns a generator, so the air that cools the building produces electricity first, and no fuel is burned at the data center. The compressor is driven by a natural gas engine to begin with and by a renewable-powered motor later, while the pipeline and the turbines stay the same.
Who it is for
Hyperscale facilities
Cold air can be supplied on site or brought to a large facility by pipeline.
Edge data centers
An edge facility can sit at an off-ramp on a compressed air pipeline and take its cooling and electricity there.
Operators with existing HVAC
The air enters standard ventilation or chills the water that feeds the chillers, so it works with the HVAC a facility already has.
The problem it solves
Cooling a data hall depends on mechanical chillers, which use electricity to make cold. In the Breeze system the cold is a by-product: it is the exhaust of turbines that are generating power.
The result is huge energy savings against mechanical chillers, and the air can come from a distance, because a pipeline carries it to the facility.
How the cold air reaches a data hall
The cooling comes from the same air that generates the power.
Compress on site or at a distance
A gas engine drives a compressor, either at the data center or at the far end of a pipeline that carries the air to it.
Release through turbines
At the data center the air expands through turbines that turn generators. It leaves them below zero.
Ventilate, or chill the water
The air is warmed to about 22°C and enters the facility through its standard ventilation system, or it chills the water that feeds the chillers.
| Air on arrival | Below zero |
|---|---|
| Supply temperature | Typically 22°C |
| Supply distance | Miles; pipeline projects in design run 300 to 400 miles |
Questions about data center cooling
Can the cold air be supplied from a distance?
Yes. The compressor can be on site, or it can be elsewhere and send compressed air to the data center through a pipeline. The pipelines Breeze looks for are miles long, and the pipeline projects it is designing run 300 to 400 miles.
Does it work with existing HVAC?
Yes. The air is warmed to about 22°C and enters the facility’s standard ventilation system, or it chills the water that feeds the chillers, so it integrates with the HVAC already installed.
Why is the air cold?
Because air cools sharply as it expands. When compressed air is released through a turbine it gives up its energy to the turbine, and the exhaust comes out below zero.
Does the system also produce electricity?
Yes. Each turbine turns a generator, so the air generates electricity at the data center before it is used for cooling. No fuel is burned there.
What happens if the air supply is interrupted?
Where the air comes by pipeline, the pipeline is also a store: the air in it stays there until it is needed.
Which facilities does it suit?
Hyperscale and edge facilities. An edge data center can also be one of several energy nodes on a CAPS pipeline.
Data center cooling, explained on video
What the video covers
The video shows a data center at the end of a compressed air pipeline. Turbines there generate electricity, and their cold exhaust does the cooling: it enters ventilation after warming to about 22°C, or it chills the water that feeds the chillers. The compressors start on natural gas and move to solar.
The same system, used elsewhere
How it works
The whole chain in four stages: compressor, pipeline, turbine, and the move from gas to renewable power.
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About CAPS pipeline storageBuilding or cooling a data center?
Tell us where the site is and how much cooling it needs.